Vehicle technologies making roads safer

Electronic driver-assist systems are already making roadways safer in Georgia and across the country, according to data published by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Specifically, blind-spot detection and lane departure warning systems were found to reduce the incidence of head-on crashes and single-vehicle sideswipes by 18 percent. Injuries to drivers and passengers in those types of crashes were reduced by 24 percent.

These technologies were found to lower fatal car accident rates by 86 percent. Other studies are also encouraging with regard to the usefulness of these safety systems. A study of trucks in the U.S. found that lane-departure warning systems cut the rate of certain kinds of crashes by nearly half. A study focused on Volvo vehicles in Sweden indicated that these safety technologies reduced crashes by 53 percent.

In another study by the IIHS, the effectiveness of blind-spot detection systems was examined in lane-change or merge situations using vehicles made by General Motors, Mazda, Honda, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Fiat Chrysler. There the study found that blind-spot detection systems lower crash injuries by 23 percent and crash rates overall by 14 percent. Other IIHS studies have found that rearview cameras may prevent nearly 17 percent of backing-up crashes and that autonomous braking front-crash prevention systems reduce the risk of front-to-rear crashes by half.

Despite these technology advances, car accidents will continue to happen, and statistics show that the vast majority of them are due to human error. A person who has been injured in a collision caused by the negligence of another driver might want to have legal assistance when attempting to obtain compensation for medical bills and other losses.